Sharp has just released their quarterly earnings report and at the press conference Takashi Okuda, Sharp's president, let slip that Sharp will supply displays for the new iPhone. Shipments will start in August, Okuda says. The new iPhone is expected to be announced on September 12.

Sharp to make displays for new iPhone
Sharp reported today that they still struggle with weak demand and a strong yen. Therefore Sharps’ president also felt the urge to share some positive future prospects by saying that Sharp will supply display panels for Apple’s new iPhone.

- "Shipments will start in August” Takashi Okuda said.


The new iPhone will feature a larger display and a new design if rumors are to be believed design. Here you see a computer generated model based on the rumors

The next iPhone is rumored to feature a 4-inch screen, compared to a 3.5-inch screen in all previous iPhones. The display will use a so-called in-cell touch technology which basically means that the touch sensors for detecting finger input are placed inside the display panel instead of on-top, allowing for a thinner screen.

Besides Sharp, LG.Display and Japan Display will also be supplying displays for the new iPhone, Reuters says. LG.Display is already a supplier for almost every iOS and Mac product today. Japan Display is a partnership between Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi.

In November 2011, FlatpanelsHD reported that Sony and Hitachi had supplied 4" LCD panels to Apple as samples. Sharp has also been mentioned as a future supplier of display panels to the iPhone, iPad, and Apple's flat panel TV. The interesting thing is that Samsung is not mentioned as a display panel supplier in the report. Samsung has supplied displays for several generations of Apple products, alongside LG.

Reuters says that Apple plans to announce the new iPhone on September 12 – a date mentioned by numerous sources last week.

-  Source: Reuters